Blackballing for Christ

I would like to preface what I am about to say with this: This is not a hoax, a myth, or an imaginary story. I am not being paranoid, and to ensure this, I sat on this for several days without saying anything until I could back this up. Okay: It has come to my attention, earlier this week, that Pinnacle Signs was not getting business in some circumstances because its owner is a heathen wretch in danger of Hellfire.

Perhaps that's hyperbolic. Let me explain. Person X came into my office on Monday and said, in the context of why I was moving all my stuff around in my building in preparation to rent it out, and in response to my assertion that things had not gone as I expected business-wise, "Well, I would have to say that you did some things right and some things wrong, and I know one of the things that hurt was not going to church."

You can imagine the expression that crawled over my features. Slowly, I turned, and inch by inch, I asked him to clarify. He did, and then left, and I waited until the next day, and asked a second person. Person Y's response was blase, matter-of-fact, and was, "Well, yeah, I figured you knew that." Since then, it has come to my attention that one person was asked not to work with me because of this, another was warned about my atheism as if it might present a problem, and a third heard a joke being told, like this:

"So and so's got an icthus (those Christian fish) on his sign, though. Wonder what Pinnacle would put on theirs?"

Big laughs all around.

So now, half a dozen people in, I am either not paranoid, or I now am more so than I ever was. I can't imagine trying to find out where this started, but as Christie pointed out, I have had conversations with two people about why I didn't pray at Rotary (before I quit), so it could be that, it could be an innocent conversation, it could be anything. I can't believe I have to think about this. This has been my underlying problem all week. I have gone from suspicious to furious to the adrenaline-dump stage where my head hurts and my eyes won't open, and I kind of want to crush a windpipe. I hate this place now more than ever.

Christie has also posted something about this on her blog, so go look at that, too.

Comments

Blackballing for Christ

I would like to preface what I am about to say with this: This is not a hoax, a myth, or an imaginary story. I am not being paranoid, and to ensure this, I sat on this for several days without saying anything until I could back this up. Okay: It has come to my attention, earlier this week, that Pinnacle Signs was not getting business in some circumstances because its owner is a heathen wretch in danger of Hellfire.

Perhaps that's hyperbolic. Let me explain. Person X came into my office on Monday and said, in the context of why I was moving all my stuff around in my building in preparation to rent it out, and in response to my assertion that things had not gone as I expected business-wise, "Well, I would have to say that you did some things right and some things wrong, and I know one of the things that hurt was not going to church."

You can imagine the expression that crawled over my features. Slowly, I turned, and inch by inch, I asked him to clarify. He did, and then left, and I waited until the next day, and asked a second person. Person Y's response was blase, matter-of-fact, and was, "Well, yeah, I figured you knew that." Since then, it has come to my attention that one person was asked not to work with me because of this, another was warned about my atheism as if it might present a problem, and a third heard a joke being told, like this:

"So and so's got an icthus (those Christian fish) on his sign, though. Wonder what Pinnacle would put on theirs?"

Big laughs all around.

So now, half a dozen people in, I am either not paranoid, or I now am more so than I ever was. I can't imagine trying to find out where this started, but as Christie pointed out, I have had conversations with two people about why I didn't pray at Rotary (before I quit), so it could be that, it could be an innocent conversation, it could be anything. I can't believe I have to think about this. This has been my underlying problem all week. I have gone from suspicious to furious to the adrenaline-dump stage where my head hurts and my eyes won't open, and I kind of want to crush a windpipe. I hate this place now more than ever.

Christie has also posted something about this on her blog, so go look at that, too.